ABELL, Herbert
| Service Number: | 2026 |
|---|---|
| Enlisted: | 27 March 1916 |
| Last Rank: | Private |
| Last Unit: | 34th Infantry Battalion |
| Born: | Wallsend, New South Wales, Australia, 19 July 1884 |
| Home Town: | Merewether, Newcastle, New South Wales |
| Schooling: | Not yet discovered |
| Occupation: | Railway porter |
| Died: | Killed in Action, France, 22 August 1918, aged 34 years |
| Cemetery: |
Beacon Cemetery, Sailly-Laurette Plot I, Row A, Grave No 7 |
| Memorials: | Australian War Memorial Roll of Honour, Haymarket NSW Government Railway and Tramway Honour Board, Merewether Memorial Gates |
World War 1 Service
| 27 Mar 1916: | Enlisted AIF WW1, Private, 2026, 34th Infantry Battalion | |
|---|---|---|
| 24 Aug 1916: | Involvement Private, 2026, 34th Infantry Battalion, --- :embarkation_roll: roll_number: '17' embarkation_place: Sydney embarkation_ship: HMAT Anchises embarkation_ship_number: A68 public_note: '' | |
| 24 Aug 1916: | Embarked Private, 2026, 34th Infantry Battalion, HMAT Anchises, Sydney |
Great Sydney Central Station Honour Board
Herbert ABELL, (Service Number 2026) was 31-years-old when he joined the NSWGR as a porter on the Newcastle Relief Staff in 1915. Born and bred in Newcastle, he joined the 3rd Reinforcements of ‘Newcastle’s Own’, the 34th Battalion, in March 1916.
Embarked from Sydney in August 1916, he was sent to England with his unit, and on to France within a month. He spent two months working on field railway construction in early 1917, and some weeks in hospital with an infected heel later in the year. He had a fortnight’s leave in England in early 1918, re-joining his unit in France in March, before being killed in action on 22 August 1918. He was buried in Taille Wood British Cemetery, 4½ miles SSE of Albert, but later his remains were exhumed and re-interred in Beacon British Cemetery, Sailly Laurette, 4½ miles SSW of Albert.
(NAA B2455-3018074)
Submitted 9 May 2023 by John Oakes
Biography contributed by Evan Evans
From Gary Mitchell, Sandgate Cemetery
Awaiting memorialisation at Sandgate Cemetery.
104 years ago today, on the 22nd August 1918, Private Herbert Abell, referred to as Bert, 34th Battalion (Reg No-2026), railway porter from Morgan Street, Merewether, New South Wales, was Killed in Action at the Battle of Albert, France, age 34.
Born at Wallsend, New South Wales on the 19th July 1884 (as ABEL) to John Thomas (died 6.12.1914) and Sarah Ann (died 24.1.1935) Abell of Morgan Street, Merewether, New South Wales and 3 Margaret Street, Merewether, N.S.W., their son Roy Allen Abell, who died 25.7.1924, the only name inscribed on the headstone, Bert enlisted March 1916 at Newcastle, N.S.W.
Admitted to hospital 28.9.1917 (septic heel).
Bert is resting at Beacon Cemetery, France. Plot I Row A Grave 7.
Mr. Abell’s name has been inscribed on the Merewether (Mitchell Park) Memorial Gates (photos, unveiled on the 12th March 1921, 322 names originally inscribed, 44 Fallen, 335 names now inscribed, 51 Fallen, located at Mitchell Park, Merewether, N.S.W., incorporating Townson Oval), Merewether St. David's Presbyterian Church Roll of Service/Roll of Honour, Newcastle South Public School Roll of Honour and the NSW Govt Railways and Tramways Roll of Honour, 1914-1919.
There is no memorial inscription on the headstone of the family gravesite to tell us of the supreme sacrifice of their son Bert during The Great War, so February 2019 I placed a Memorial cross adorned with poppies in remembrance of his service for God, King & Country. ANGLICAN 1-59. 46.
Contact with descendants would be much appreciated.
For more detail, see “Forever Remembered “
http://www.commemoratingwarheroes.com/cemetery-main-search/
Lest We Forget.
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